Rory Sabbatini

Rory Sabbatini
Personal information
Full name Rory Mario Trevor Sabbatini
Born (1976-04-02) 2 April 1976
Durban, South Africa
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st)
Nationality  South Africa
Residence Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Career
College University of Arizona
Turned professional 1998
Current tour(s) PGA Tour
Professional wins 6
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 6
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T2: 2007
U.S. Open T30: 2011
The Open Championship T26: 2006
PGA Championship T39: 2008

Rory Mario Trevor Sabbatini (born 2 April 1976) is a South African professional golfer. He currently resides in Fort Worth, Texas, United States.

Early life

Sabbatini was born in Durban, South Africa, and has Italian, Scottish and Irish ancestry.[1] He started playing golf at age 4, but concentrated on it from age 12. He was recruited by the University of Arizona, turned professional in 1998 and joined the PGA Tour in 1999. He was the youngest member of the tour that year.

Professional career

During the first decade of the 2000s, Sabbatini had five PGA Tour wins; he finished 2006 placed 12th on the money list. In September 2007, he reached the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time,[2] with a high of 8th.[3][4] He spent over 20 weeks in the top-10 in 2007 and 2008.[5]

Sabbatini tied for second at the 2007 Masters Tournament[6] and the 2007 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He won the Par 3 Contest at the 2008 Masters Tournament.[7]

Sabbatini has represented South Africa in the World Cup five times and won the event with Trevor Immelman in 2003.

In his first Presidents Cup appearance in 2007, Sabbatini had a 0–3–1 record, as the International team was defeated by the United States team.

In May 2009 Sabbatini captured his fifth PGA Tour title by winning the HP Byron Nelson Championship by two strokes over Brian Davis. He broke the tournament record for scoring with a score of 269 (−19), beating the previous record of 270 (−18).[8]

In March 2011 Sabbatini won his sixth PGA Tour Title at The Honda Classic with a one stroke victory over South Korea's Y. E. Yang. Sabbatini entered the final round with a five stroke lead over the rest of the field, helped by a course record-equalling 64 on day two. He started his final round in solid fashion with an early birdie at the 3rd hole, however as the round progressed he made bogeys at the 9th and 14th, meaning that Yang was able to cut that lead to just one, with a spectacular tee shot on the par-three 15th that landed 18 inches past the pin. On the next hole though, Sabbatini holed a clutch birdie putt to tighten his grip on the title and played out the 17th and 18th in even-par to hold on for a one stroke victory. This win also secured him a place at the 2011 Masters Tournament.

Controversy

In the final round of the 2005 Booz Allen Classic, apparently frustrated by the slow pace of play by his partner, Ben Crane, Sabbatini finished the 17th hole and walked over to the next tee, leaving Crane behind to complete the hole by himself. He received heavy criticism, and some sympathy, and later apologised for the incident.[9]

Sabbatini also made waves following the Wachovia Championship in May 2007 when, after leading the field by one stroke after day three and then giving up five strokes to Tiger Woods to lose the tournament on Sunday, he proclaimed that Woods was "more beatable than ever."[10] In the final round of the 2007 Bridgestone Invitational, he had a fan removed who heckled him with questions about Tiger Woods.[11] Then, in December of the same year, more controversy was stirred when he withdrew from the Target World Challenge, an off-season event hosted by Tiger Woods, becoming the only player in history to withdraw from that event.[12]

In 2011, Sabbatini created more controversy when at the Northern Trust Open, after hitting his ball in the rough, a volunteer helped to locate the ball, but Sabbatini, thinking that the volunteer had moved his ball, yelled at him. He later apologised to avoid being penalised.[13] Later in 2011, at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Sabbatini got into a heated, profanity-laced argument with playing partner Sean O'Hair for undisclosed reasons. His penalty was also undisclosed because of the PGA Tour's policy.

Professional wins (7)

PGA Tour wins (6)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of victoryRunner(s)-up
1 3 Sep 2000 Air Canada Championship −16 (68-68-67-65=268) 1 stroke United States Grant Waite
2 9 Jun 2003 FBR Capital Open −14 (68-66-68-68=270) 4 strokes United States Joe Durant, United States Fred Funk,
United States Duffy Waldorf
3 19 Feb 2006 Nissan Open −13 (67-65-67-72=271) 1 stroke Australia Adam Scott
4 27 May 2007 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial −14 (70-67-62-67=266) Playoff United States Jim Furyk, Germany Bernhard Langer
5 24 May 2009 HP Byron Nelson Championship −19 (68-64-65-64=261) 2 strokes England Brian Davis
6 6 Mar 2011 The Honda Classic −9 (71-64-66-70=271) 1 stroke South Korea Y. E. Yang

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 2004 Buick Classic Spain Sergio García, Republic of Ireland Pádraig Harrington Garcia won with birdie on third extra hole
Harrington eliminated with par on second hole
2 2007 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial United States Jim Furyk, Germany Bernhard Langer Won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (1)

Results in major championships

Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament CUT CUT CUT T36 T2 CUT T20
U.S. Open CUT CUT CUT T71 CUT T51 T58 CUT
The Open Championship T54 T53 T66 CUT T26 CUT CUT CUT
PGA Championship 77 CUT CUT 68 CUT T74 CUT CUT T39 T67
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Masters Tournament CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open CUT T30 CUT
The Open Championship T54
PGA Championship CUT T74 CUT CUT CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 1 0 1 1 2 10 3
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 4
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 5
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 6
Totals 0 1 0 1 1 2 45 18

Results in World Golf championships

Tournament2002200320042005200620072008200920102011
Accenture Match Play Championship R64 DNP DNP R16 R64 R32 R64 R64 R64 DNP
Cadillac Championship DNP DNP T21 DNP T41 T35 T70 T53 DNP T28
Bridgestone Invitational DNP T51 T2 T28 T36 T2 T27 T45 DNP T48
HSBC Champions – – – – – – – T45 DNP T29

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

References

  1. ↑ George, Dave (4 March 2011). "Commentary: Instigator Rory Sabbatini speaks loudly, carries a big shtick". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 26 July 2013. In a Golf Magazine article posted on Rory's personal website, this South African of Italian, Irish and Scottish ancestry refers to himself as Jekyll and Hyde – intense and aggressive on the course and easy-going everywhere else.
  2. ↑ 69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking
  3. ↑ Official World Golf Ranking – 23 September 2007
  4. ↑ Official World Golf Ranking – 10 February 2008
  5. ↑ "Players who have reached the Top Ten in the Official World Golf Ranking since 1986". European Tour Official Guide 09 (PDF) (38th ed.). PGA European Tour. 2009. p. 558. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
  6. ↑ "Golf Major Championships".
  7. ↑ "Nation watches Sabbatini 'win' Par 3 Contest". ESPN. Associated Press. 10 April 2008. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  8. ↑ "Sabbatini Wins Byron Nelson After His Birdie on No. 16 Blunts a Late Charge". New York Times. Associated Press. 24 May 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
  9. ↑ "Sabbatini apologizes to Crane after snapping". ESPN. 14 June 2005. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
  10. ↑ Hack, Damon (11 May 2007). "Sabbatini's Goal Is to Win Tournaments, Not Friends". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
  11. ↑ "Sabbatini has fan kicked off course". Golf.com. Associated Press. 5 August 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  12. ↑ "Agent: Last-place Sabbatini withdraws due to shin splints". ESPN. Associated Press. 16 December 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  13. ↑ "Report: Rory Sabbatini in trouble". ESPN. Associated Press. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
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